September 23, 2023
Relationships That Fizzle
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” John 15:18-19 (NASB)
In my early days in law enforcement, I worked inside the jail. The jail was a relic from the 1950s. There were still steel bars on cells, along with an old galley-style door that had to be manually operated by a crank to open cells. It was a fun place to work as a young man starting my career. I had friends who I spent time with after work during this time. Shortly afterward, a friend moved into our home. He went through a terrible divorce. While he lived with us, he asked us to attend church with him. We reluctantly went after several months of requests. Jesus Christ changed my life from that point. Then, after a few months, I began to notice changes in my behavior were necessary. As I slowly began to make changes, I noticed close friends, weren’t so close anymore. They eventually stopped hanging around us. We didn’t fit into the lifestyle we once were a part of. The world didn’t want us anymore. We didn’t fit in.
“If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world…” “What a jolt! A Christian who follows Christ must expect to be hated. (The form of the Greek in verse 18 suggests certainty: ‘you will be hated.’) Jesus gave several reasons for this. First, the world hated Jesus: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”[1] When Jesus Christ comes, the words and works of the person change. People hate this as Jesus so pointedly put it. This new life of inner and outer righteousness begins to fuel hostility. It reveals the true character of the company we once kept (John 7:7). When we come to faith, we see a departure from the people we once used to engage. Jesus, people hated Him since His birth. “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.” They even tried to kill him as a baby when Herod the Great sought to kill Him. If the world hates the Father, then we should expect to be hated by the world. Why? It is because we represent something different. We bring light to the darkness. Even when we bring love to our enemies, they respond with hatred. “The world hates the Christians, though it has suffered no evil, because they are opposed to its pleasures. If a man answers Christ’s call, he no longer belongs to the world, and the treatment he receives will be no better than that given to Christ, his Master.”[2] This is because the world has turned its back on the Father. They reject the One and True God. When the gospel exposed men’s darkness, it revealed the inner darkness men did not want to reveal. As Jesus presented a path from the darkness, men hated it. They would rather live in their darkness.
I remember several years later trying to talk to my old friends about Jesus. One told me, “That’s why we stopped hanging out with you.” “You changed.” It was sad to see them go again, but in the same breath, it was a relief to be shunned because of the changes in my life. I must be on the right track then. I still don’t have much of a relationship with many today. We are courteous but distant in our relationship. Over the last few years, one friend has posted things about God and prayer. I pray he has made a decision for Jesus Christ in his life or is on his way to salvation. I can only hope I in some way was able to help him to see the light of Jesus Christ.
[1] Hughes, R. K. (1999). John: that you may believe (p. 369). Crossway Books.
[2] Foster, L. (1987). John: Unlocking the Scriptures for You (p. 165). Standard.